1951 Bottling Instructions

Simonds operated a series of depots, where beer was supplied in ‘Hogsheads’, which is a large barrel containing 54 gallons of beer, whilst the ‘standard’ barrel contained a more manageable 36 gallons. Beer was then bottled locally, to reduce the heavy costs of transporting bottles. As transport infrastructure improved, these depots were wound down into distribution centres or closed. Simonds quality systems were in evidence in 1951 with these depot bottling instructions.
Sometimes the bottling process was contracted out, eg to James Williams brewery in South Wales, to Hibberts in Southampton, who specialised in ships stores. Beer was also shipped to Hong Kong for bottling by Caldbeck MacGregor. This process worked both ways, with both the Reading and Tamar breweries bottling for Bass. Here are a few examples, there are many more: